CPR First Feature nabs Oregon Bred Juvenile

By Patrick Kerrison
Portland, OR – At long last CPR First Feature broke from the gate the way trainer Scott Raley hoped she would – clean and straight. For her efforts, she earned the first Portland Meadows stakes win of her career in the Sunday, November 13, Oregon-bred Juvenile Final for Quarter Horses.

“When she breaks out of the gate she usually breaks ‘out.’,” said Raley. “When that happens the rider loses his iron. When Ty (Dangerfield) rode her in Montana, the line says she broke poorly and that’s right, but Ty lost his iron on her. Timmy [Neal] did once too.”

Sunday, CPR First Feature broke perfectly well and drifted out only slightly several jumps into the 400 yard test. Under a right-handed whip by rider Jaime Martinez, the 2-year-old daughter of First Down Cash stayed the course and drove down the straight finishing in 20.68 seconds.

“We didn’t know how good this filly was,” said owner Edward Steenkolk. “But she sure showed it today. She reared in her trials out of the gate last time and she hadn’t run in a while. We just didn’t know. We sort of figured she’d be tough.”

Raley sent CPR First Feature to the starting gate 10 days prior to Sunday’s event to help acclimate rider and horse with each other and further assure her starting abilities.

“Jaime has never been on her back before,” Raley said. “Since she’s had problems breaking I wanted the two to get a better feel. I don’t normally bring them to the gate but I wanted to with her.”
In that morning workout, CPR First Feature broke out, as she has done often before and Martinez lost his iron.

“She’s done that with three different riders now,” Raley continued. “He got it back pretty quick though.

“I am glad we did this 10 days ago instead of it happening today.”
Martinez, however, had little doubt that they’d get off to a good start.

“I think it [the schooling 10 days ago] made things better,” Martinez said. “She gets very excited and was ready to go today. I didn’t think for a second we would break badly today and we didn’t. She broke perfectly.”

That she did and her straight course of run afforded the pair a neck victory.

“We went to the front and she never quit on me,” Martinez continued. “When those two outside horses were coming at us and she saw them, she still kept trying.”

CPR First Feature returned $29.40, $9.20 and $3.80.
Victory’s Hope, sent off as the public’s choice of $.50 on the dollar, rallied late to earn second, returning $3.40 and $2.40. Dazzlin Dorry, owned and trained by Scott Raley’s father Ron, was bumped at the start and raced evenly for third, returning $2.20.

Winning owner Edwarrd Steenkolk has had the training services of Scott Raley for about one year and CPR First Feature is his only horse currently on the racetrack.

“I have a bunch more at home, getting ready,” Steenkolk said. “I just shipped a yearling up to Scott a couple days ago too. That one will start training this spring.”

Steenkolk has won stakes races with numerous other Quarter Horses such as CPR First Straw, CPR First Class and CPR First Choice. The latter pair are sisters.